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Archives for April 2013

Mets Notes: Buck, Maine, Tanous

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As MLB.com's Anthony DiComo mentions, catcher John Buck was attached to a pair of major trades during the offseason, both times with a team just trying to dump his $6MM salary.  Buck has been more than an afterthought in the early going, however – after adding four RBIs in today's defeat of the Marlins, the backstop now leads the National League with nine runs knocked in.  More on the Mets:

  • Continued success by Buck would allow more time for Mets catching prospect Travis D'Arnaud to marinate in the minors, wrote Jared Diamond of the Wall Street Journal last night.  From a business standpoint, it makes sense for the Mets to wait until at least mid-June to recall D'Arnaud, so that he will not be arbitration eligible as a Super Two player after the 2015 season.  Same goes for pitching prospect Zack Wheeler, who is "not far away" according to Las Vegas 51s manager Wally Backman (Mark Hale of the New York Post reporting).  With a walk rate of 4.7 per nine innings in his young Triple-A career, Wheeler legitimately needs the development time.
  • To make room on the 40-man roster for Sunday starter Aaron Laffey, the Mets moved Johan Santana to the 60-day DL, notes DiComo.  Santana's Mets career is already over, as he underwent season-ending shoulder capsule surgery this week.  Check out this ESPN report from earlier this week for more on the procedure.  Between his $25.5MM salary and the $5.5MM buyout he'll receive after the season, the Mets are paying Santana $31MM in 2013.
  • "My shoulder was being held together with duct tape at the time. They knew everything that was going on. They all knew. It was obvious. You don’t go from throwing 94 to 84 miles per hour. They knew my condition. I was 100 percent upfront about it; I didn’t lie about it. At the time it wasn’t so much pain, I just didn’t have anything," Marlins reliever John Maine told Jorge Arangure Jr. of the New York Times Friday, regarding the end of his time with the Mets in 2010.  Mets pitching coach Dan Warthen had called Maine a "habitual liar" regarding his health, after that game.  Maine, 31, has clawed his way back to the bigs as part of Miami's pen. 
  • Worth a read: Conor Glassey of Baseball America published an interview with Mets scouting director Tommy Tanous yesterday.
  • Did you know MLBTR has a Mets Facebook page with over 2,300 fans?  Join in the discussions today!

Quick Hits: Bruce, Dodgers, Astros, Cano

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Jay Bruce had some interesting comments on the state of free agency in a piece authored by MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince.  Bruce noted that the extension boom will lead to greater team continuity, recalling the Reds' famed Big Red Machine. "Of course," he said, "if you had that today, you might have a $600MM payroll." Bruce continued: "Fortunately for us, the dollars have become so large that even when you're signing deals with your team early, they're still close to market. I understand the competitive market and not pushing the market down for players coming after you. I respect that, and that's a big part of keeping things on the up and up on our side. But I don't think that guys are just signing anything put in front of them. There's so much information out there that if you do any due diligence at all, you're going to understand [what's fair]."

  • Right-handed starter Chad Billingsley appears set to return to the Dodgers for a Wednesday start, reports Quinn Roberts of MLB.com.  With lefty Ted Lilly also making minor league rehab starts, the Dodgers will again have to shuffle their rotation.  Los Angeles moved one of their surplus starters earlier today when they shipped Aaron Harang to the Rockies for Ramon Hernandez.
  • The Astros are all-in on rebuilding, with a payroll that barely exceeds the $20MM the team has set aside for draft spending, writes Phil Rogers of the Boston Herald. GM Jeff Luhnow is preaching not "patience," but what he calls "discipline." According to Luhnow: "We all feel a sense of urgency to get this to the endpoint as quickly as possible. But to do that, we have to be disciplined about how we implement (our plan). That means not doing things that are going to give us an extra win or two this year at the expense of an extra five wins two or three years down the road."
  • Robinson Cano's agency swap is an admission that the contract pressure is getting to him, opines Bill Madden of the New York Daily News.  Madden feels that Cano wants to get his big pay day but also doesn't want to have it hanging over him.

 Zach Links contributed to this post.

Dodgers Acquire Ramon Hernandez For Aaron Harang

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Two division rivals were able to turn their surpluses into useful parts with a trade this afternoon.  The Dodgers will receive catcher Ramon Hernandez with starter Aaron Harang and $4.25MM heading to Colorado.

However, Harang probably won't stay in Colorado for long.  Soon after the deal, the Rockies announced that they designated the hurler for assignment.  They'll look to find a taker for him over the next ten days and unload his contract.

The right-hander was one of the club's surplus starters and was less-than-thrilled about having to come out of the bullpen in 2013.  The veteran posted a 3.61 ERA for the Dodgers last season with 6.6 K/9 and 4.3 BB/9 across 179 2/3 innings of work.  The Rockies already are hearing from teams with interest in Harang and the Red Sox are one possibility as they look for a John Lackey replacement.

Harang signed a backloaded two-year, $12MM deal prior to the 2012 season. The deal paid him $3MM last year and $7MM this year with a $2MM buyout if his mutual option for 2014 is not exercised.  If his option is triggered, it could be worth $7MM-$8MM depending on his performance.  With the $2MM buyout off of the Dodgers' books, they'll wind up saving some money in luxury tax penalties next season.

The Rockies designated Hernandez for assignment just prior to Opening Day.  The catcher posted a .217/.247/.353 batting line in 184 at bats in 2012.  Colorado had a surplus of catchers and Hernandez was the odd man out after Yorvit Torrealba beat him out for a spot on the Opening Day roster.  

The Rockies inked the backstop to a two-year, $6.4MM deal after the 2011 season.  With the Dodgers, Hernandez can be expected to serve as added support for A.J. Ellis along with current understudy Tim Federowicz.

Meanwhile, the Dodgers still have a pair of extra starters in Chris Capuano and Ted Lilly.  Unlike Harang, Capuano has said that he is comfortable with serving as a reliever for the overloaded Dodgers.  General Manager Ned Colletti also had said that he enjoys having rotation depth, you can expect both pitchers to attract interest from clubs in need of a starter.

Troy Renck of the Denver Post (on Twitter) first reported that Hernandez was traded to the Dodgers.  Jon Heyman of CBSSports.com (Twitter links) reported that Harang was going to the Rockies in the deal along with the cash considerations.  Additional details provided by Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports (on Twitter).

Rosenthal On Kershaw, Fernandez, Davis

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Baseball is back, and that also means the return of Full Count from Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports.  Let's dive in..

  • Clayton Kershaw's people and the Dodgers are still talking with the season underway, but no one really knows what's going on behind closed doors.  At the same time, no one should be surprised if Kershaw winds up being the first true $200MM pitcher.  Inking him for a total of ten years would keep him locked up through his age 34 season and even though that length sounds crazy, Felix Hernandez is signed through age 33 and Justin Verlander through age 36.  Rosenthal's guess is an eight-year, $200MM extension on top of the two years of control that he has left.
  • It was a surprise to some that the Marlins opted to start Jose Fernandez's service clock so early, but it turns out that they had little choice thanks to an unimpressive spring from Jacob Turnerand injuries elsewhere in the rotation.  Miami did their homework on other pitchers that started their careers at a young age, including Dwight Gooden, and ultimately decided that it was the right call.
  • Many are asking why the Rangers ever parted with Chris Davis, but its a deal that made sense at the time in 2011.  Mitch Moreland had the first base job and Davis had no place in the lineup, meaning that he needed a change of scenery.  Texas GM Jon Daniels acknowledged that Davis could develop into an impact offensive player at the time, and that's exactly what happened.

David Aardsma Clears Waivers

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David Aardsma has cleared release waivers, MLBTR has learned. The right-handed reliever has generated interest from around ten teams, and hopes to decide on a new destination by the middle of next week.

Aardsma was released on Thursday by the Yankees. As MLBTR's Tim Dierkes wrote upon Aardsma's release, there should be interest in the newly-minted free agent since he showed his health and hit 94 on the gun during the spring.

Aardsma had Tommy John surgery in July 2011, so he only ended up making one big league appearance for the Yankees. For his career, the right-hander owns a 4.22 ERA with 9.1 K/9 and 5.1 BB/9.

Zach Links contributed to this post.

Diamondbacks Claim Will Harris

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Righthander Will Harris has been claimed off of waivers by the Diamondbacks, the Athletics tweeted. Harris was waived to make room for starter Bartolo Colon, who the A's have reinstated from the suspended list. As expected, Dan Straily was optioned to Triple-A to clear a rotation spot for Colon, the team also announced on Twitter.

Oakland claimed Harris off of waivers from the Rockies just three days ago. As MLBTR's Steve Adams explained, Harris's high strikeout rate is intriguing, in spite of his shaky big league track record.

Daniel McCutchen Suspended For Positive PED Test

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Orioles minor league pitcher Daniel McCutchen has been suspended for 50 games by MLB after testing positive for a performance enhancing drug, tweets Jerry Crasnick of ESPN.com and Baseball America. The test revealed two banned substances, Crasnick tweets: "Methenolone and a metabolite of Trenbolone." 

McCutchen, 30, saw big league playing time over 2009-12 with the Pirates, including a 2011 season in which he posted a 3.72 ERA over 84 2/3 innings. Last season, McCutchen gave up a walk and a home run in his only appearance, leaving his ERA for the season at infinity when he was pulled before recording an out. He spent most of the year at Triple-A, where he threw to a 2.98 ERA in 63 1/3 innings. The right-hander joined the Orioles this past offseason on a minor league deal.

Colby Rasmus Changes Agents

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The Blue Jays' Colby Rasmus has changed agents, switching to Excel Sports Management and Casey Close over the spring, reports Sportsnet.ca's Ben Nicholson-Smith. Rasmus will join an impressive list of clients with Excel, including Derek Jeter and Clayton Kershaw. The center fielder was previously a client of the Beverly Hills Sports Council. 

Still just 26, Rasmus is in search of a breakout year. He showed immense promise with a .276/.361/.498 season as a 23-year-old with the Cardinals in 2010, yet has failed to repeat that performance. Last year, Rasmus posted a .223/.289/.400 line for Toronto. After avoiding arbitration with a $4.68MM deal over the offseason, Rasmus enters his final year of arbitration eligibility after this season before reaching free agent eligibility in 2015. 

 

Blue Jays Designate Jeffress For Assignment

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The Blue Jays have selected the contract of righty Dave Bush and designated fellow reliever Jeremy Jeffress for assignment, the team announced via press release and on Twitter. Jeffress, 25, is out of options.

Jeffress gave up two walks and a home run in his first outing this year, after pitching 13 1/3 innings of 6.75 ERA ball for the Royals last year. Once a highly touted prospect, Jeffress was part of the deal that sent Zack Greinke to the Brewers. The Jays acquired him from Kansas City in the offseason for cash considerations.

Bush pitched in Korea in 2012 after eight big league seasons. His last season as a regular MLB starter was in 2010, when he started 31 games for the Brewers and logged a 4.54 ERA in 174 1/3 innings. In 2011, Bush struggled as a reliever and spot starter for the Rangers, sporting a 5.79 ERA over 37 1/3 innings.

Quick Hits: Brewers, Diamondbacks, Marlins

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As the year's first full weekend of baseball gets underway, take a look at the latest on the Cubs' efforts to rehabilitate Chicago's venerable Wrigley Field. Hal Dardick of the Chicago Tribune writes that, with the club and the city nearing a deal, the owners of the famous Wrigleyville rooftops are preparing to fight any moves that would obstruct their view. On to some roster shuffling notes:

  • The Brewers have some difficult roster decisions coming up, writes Adam McCalvy of MLB.com. With Corey Hart already out, the club needs to address injuries to Ryan Braun and Aramis Ramirez. While the club is hopeful that Braun will miss little (if any) time due to his neck spasms, Ramirez's knee sprain is concerning and could result in a DL stint. With a full 40-man roster, however, Milwaukee is short on choices. Potential reserve infielders Taylor Green and Jeff Bianchi are on the roster but are also on the DL, leaving prospect Scooter Gennett as the only apparent infield option on the current 40-man.  
  • The Diamondbacks added shortstops Cliff Pennington, Didi Gregorius, and Nick Ahmed this offseason, and already had prospect Chris Owings in place at the position, writes Nick Piecoro of AZCentral Sports. With Gregorius returning soon from an elbow strain, the club faces a complicated choice in allocating playing time among the players at the big league and upper minor league levels.
  • Another injury-related roster crunch is playing out in Miami, where the Marlins are struggling to replace multiple injured first basemen (most recently, Casey Kotchman). Clark Spencer of the Miami Herald explains that, without any healthy replacements on the 40-man roster, the club is essentially holding tryouts among its other position players. The results reportedly included Chris Coghlan asking whether he could use his outfielder's glove and Miguel Olivo trotting out with his catcher's mitt on.
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